Facing everyone’s puzzled gazes, Ren Yuanyang explained, "Do you know why Captain Wang agreed to our deal so decisively?"
"Isn’t it because we offered enough Cherry Tomatoes?" Qin Haonan asked uncertainly.
Ren Yuanyang shook his head. "We hadn’t even specified the number of tools we needed, and he agreed immediately. That means what he values isn’t the quantity."
At this, it dawned on the others.
"I know! They want our Cherry Tomatoes to get the seeds!" Qin Haonan exclaimed.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly.
"It seems they deduced we have Evolutionary Plants from our offer of one hundred kilograms of fresh Cherry Tomatoes," Hua Lingfang said, shaking her head slightly. "But they’ve seriously miscalculated!"
Everyone exchanged knowing smiles.
They all knew that the traits of the plants Ren Yuanyang evolved weren’t passed on to the next generation.
"Go ahead and send it," Ren Yuanyang urged.
"You got it!" Qin Haonan immediately clicked send.
When Wang Jun saw the list of tools they sent, he frowned slightly. "Three of each? Isn’t that a bit much?"
"We’re asking for a lot of different types, but each item is very small. The materials required for this stuff are a drop in the ocean for your Aircraft Carrier Base," Ren Yuanyang instructed Qin Haonan on how to haggle.
Wang Jun thought for a moment, then replied, "Deal. When can you come make the trade?"
"How about tomorrow morning? Can you get them made in time?" Ren Yuanyang asked after a moment of thought.
"Yes. You know our base’s location, right?" Naturally, Wang Jun also wanted to get his hands on those Cherry Tomatoes as soon as possible.
"Great. See you tomorrow morning, then!"
After ending the chat, Wang Jun immediately began giving orders.
"Manufacture the tools on this list immediately. They must be finished today!"
"Notify the fishing teams. If they find any suspected Evolutionary Fish, they are to be kept separate. All suspected Evolutionary Fish must be sent to the lab!"
"Have the lab analyze the components that differ between Evolutionary Fish and normal fish. Confirm whether these components can enhance the human body!"
"Yes, sir!" The secretary noted down the orders, then turned and left.
Next, Wang Jun initiated a video conference with Ji Yizhi and Long Zhan.
"Old Wang, your side has also detected the fluctuations in Blue Star’s magnetic field, right?" Ji Yizhi asked with a frown the moment the call connected.
Wang Jun nodded slightly, a sense of helplessness in his voice. "We were just getting things back on track, and now we’re hit with something completely out of our control."
"I know. There’s nothing we can do to stop it. What a headache," Ji Yizhi sighed as well.
Long Zhan said in his deep, rumbling voice, "Since we can’t control it, we just have to do our best to prepare our defenses."
"That’s all we can do for now." Wang Jun shook his head, then changed the subject. "By the way, that Tattooed Haonan contacted me again. Wants to make a trade."
Ji Yizhi paused for a second. "Does he have anything else we need?"
’The only reason we could trade before was that they got lucky and ran into that survivor who escaped from the Feixiang, getting their hands on the experimental data and samples.’
’Now, Ji Yizhi couldn’t imagine what else Qin Haonan could possibly have that was worth a trade.’
"They want to trade one hundred kilograms of fresh Cherry Tomatoes for three sets of woodworking tools," Wang Jun stated plainly.
"One hundred kilograms of fresh Cherry Tomatoes? Are you sure they’re fresh?" Long Zhan sounded incredulous. "It’s been raining for over three months. Anything picked three months ago can’t be considered fresh... so does that mean these Cherry Tomatoes were just harvested?"
"At least, that’s what they claim," Wang Jun replied.
"Could they be lying to us?" Ji Yizhi frowned.
"If they aren’t fresh, we can just cancel the trade," Wang Jun replied after a moment’s thought. "I, for one, don’t think they’re lying. A trick like that would be pointless."
"If they’re not lying, then they must have an evolutionary version of the cherry tomato plant. Selling the fruit to us is as good as giving us the Evolutionary Plant itself!" Long Zhan was getting excited.
"So, do you two want in?" Wang Jun asked.
He wasn’t bringing the other two in out of kindness, but to spread the risk.
He, too, was worried they might just be getting Cherry Tomatoes that had been kept in cold storage for three months.
If they really were from an evolutionary plant, sharing with these two would be an easy gesture of goodwill.
"I’m definitely in!" Long Zhan immediately replied.
Ji Yizhi, however, frowned and asked, "How many tools do they want? If it’s too much, I’m not participating."
Wang Jun immediately sent over the list of tools.
Ji Yizhi looked it over and nodded slightly. "Count me in. Trading a few supplies for what might be tomatoes from an evolutionary plant... definitely worth the risk."
"Even if they aren’t from an evolutionary plant, it’s still a good deal. We can make these tools from scraps," Long Zhan said, licking his lips. "And I haven’t had tomatoes in ages."
"Alright, my side will handle making the tools. You two just provide me with the raw materials," Wang Jun continued.
"Sounds good," the other two replied in unison.
Meanwhile, Ren Yuanyang’s group was already having lunch. In addition to potatoes and bok choy, they now had two fish—one steamed, the other in a soup.
Even without ingredients to mask the fishy taste, the fish Xin Wan cooked was only faintly gamey.
Their staple food had also been upgraded from congee to rice, making everyone feel as if they were back in the time before the flood.
But Lu Jiamei wore a worried expression. "Boss, is a geomagnetic storm really going to happen?"
"Since they’ve detected magnetic field fluctuations, it’s highly likely. We just don’t know what the intensity will be," Ren Yuanyang replied after a moment’s thought.
"Can’t we just turn off all our electronics?" Qin Haonan said, unconcerned.
"Theoretically, yes. But when do we turn them off?" Lu Jiamei countered. "Are we supposed to keep them off forever?"
Qin Haonan immediately shook his head. "No way. If they’re always off, how are we supposed to use anything? We at least need the induction cooker and the rice cooker to make meals! And we have to take the speedboat out for the trade. This geomagnetic storm is going to be a huge problem for us!"
"We can cook over an open fire. As for the speedboat, the storm will likely affect the navigation systems, instrument panels, and so on. As long as it doesn’t short-circuit and explode, the engine should still start," Ren Yuanyang replied.
Qin Haonan paused, then laughed. "The speedboat’s navigation system was already useless anyway. We’ve been using that strange app on my phone. And I never look at the instrument panel. So I guess the geomagnetic storm won’t affect me at all!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "Relatively speaking, the more sophisticated and advanced the device, the more it will be affected by a geomagnetic storm."
"So being behind the times has its perks, huh?" Qin Haonan remarked.
Ren Yuanyang rolled his eyes. "I only said the geomagnetic storm won’t have a huge impact on us. I didn’t say you should get complacent and be happy with being primitive."
"Heh, I was just kidding," Qin Haonan replied with a grin.
Ren Yuanyang didn’t continue this topic. Instead, he gave an order: "Haonan will still be the one to make the trade tomorrow. After lunch, I want you all to press the oil from every ripe Diesel Tree fruit we have. Give all the resulting diesel to Qin Haonan."

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